I'm not referring to this specific accident here but... I've thought for some time now that the Tiger Moth has had a pretty poor accident record in the last few years and have wondered why. I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with the design - many years of RAF service are testament to that. The aircraft has some vices that can be mastered through training, a feature the RAF has always looked for in a primary trainer. So is there a trend of age related technical failures (I don't think so) or is there a human factors issue: dilution of experience and a new generation of pilots unfamiliar with some of the quirks of older aeroplanes (I wonder). I am aware of one UK accident that could be put down to gross mishandling and I wonder if some of the others may come from more insidious mishandling. Whatever the source of the trend, the Tiger seems to have racked up more than its fair share of AAIB reports in recent years.
It is only a few months since I wrote this:
One thing that I have been thinking for a while now is that the Tiger Moth has had a pretty bad run of luck over the last few years, or you could just say a downright bad accident rate given the number of airframes out there. I have pondered this and looked for any common factors or causes and although I do have some suspiscions, this is probably not the right place to voice them. One thing that is often said regarding the Tiger Moth, is that it is an easy aeroplane to fly but a difficult aeroplane to fly well - probably exactly the characteristic the RAF has always looked for in primary trainers.
Regarding the recent trend in the Tiger's accident rate, I'm at a bit of a loss. Of course there is the background static of random events - engine failures and suchlike, that may in part be related to the aging of the airframes, but I do also wonder if some of the accidents are perhaps related to a dilution of experience amongst the operators of the aircraft concerned. Are Tigers increasingly been flown by those with little or no experience of vintage tailwheel aircraft?
As I said I felt this 'trend' for a while now but have previously bitten my tongue. It's only about two months since the last write-off hence my mentioning it on this occasion. a quick google of 'AAIB Tiger Moth' provides a lot of reading material for a fairly uncommon aircraft type.
Anyone any thoughts?
http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...ml#post5917141